It can be argued that the original HTC EVO is phone that defined Android during its emergence as the world’s top mobile OS, but Samsung’s Galaxy S line of phones have been insanely popular over the past few years. Sprint customers have been fortunate enough to have their choice from these two family of phones, and this year HTC and Samsung are back with the latest version of their flagship models available on the pin-dropping network. Both the HTC EVO 4G LTE and the Samsung Galaxy S III run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 SOC, feature large HD displays, an 8 megapixel camera and more memory than most people would need. It’s a good time for Sprint users to need a new phone, but which of these two powerhouses is the right phone for you?

Design:

While these two hero devices may share a similar spec sheet, they couldn’t be more different to look at and interact with. The EVO 4G LTE, which launched last month, is a triumph of industrial design and features an anodized aluminum unibody and a 4.7” display protected by Gorilla Glass 2. The premium materials feel great in the hand while making for excellent build quality. A striking red band adorns the back, giving the phone some personality while stealthily housing the EVO’s sturdy kickstand. The edges are milled down to bare aluminum, providing a smart contrast to the phone’s otherwise black hue. The glossy plastic cover allows for removable memory, something the EVO’s One X sister phone lacks, though many would prefer a matte finish. HTC has made design a top priority for this year’s lineup and this is very apparent in the EVO 4G LTE.

Samsung doesn’t use cheap plastic on the Galaxy S III, but it is still plastic nonetheless. It doesn’t help that they don’t give it any texture, making the phone hard and slippery in the hand. Of particular note is the silver trim ring, which is also plastic, that is made to look like brushed metal. To us this shows that Samsung is more worried about look than actually using premium materials on their phone. The build quality seems quite good, but it just does not translate into the feel of the phone in your hands.

The two devices are nearly identical in size, but to a man everyone who picked up both devices noted that the Galaxy S III felt wider (which it is, though only by 2mm.) We asked several happy Galaxy S II owners which device they preferred, and not a single one chose the Galaxy S III. The biggest complaints we received was that the Galaxy was too big, too slippery or that they did not like the new rounded look. We’d have to agree with them, while we appreciate the smooth back of the S III we prefer the overall design of the Galaxy S II more.

The Samsung Galaxy S III (left) and the Samsung Galaxy S II (right)

One thing we feel needs pointed out is that Samsung has broken with Android 4.0 design language and included a menu button instead of a task switcher like you’ll find on other ICS devices. Google has tried hard to make ICS a more cohesive and unified experience, and other manufacturers seem to be on board with this. Samsung has also rearranged the buttons, bringing Back to the far right. This isn’t a criticism one way or the other, but it is a curious decision from the manufacturer of the last two Nexus devices.

Both of these phones aim to make a mark with their brilliant displays, and both of them do. Samsung has stick with their own HD Super AMOLED technology on a 4.8” screen, while HTC uses Super LCD2 for their 4.7” display. In general both of these displays are large, bright, crisp and gorgeous and if you never put the two side by side it’d be hard to pick a winner. But pick a winner we must, and when they are placed side by side, the IPS S-LCD2 screen is the winner. While both technologies suffer from color oversaturation, the AMOLED panel is much more pronounced and still retains the bluish hue they are known for. Thanks to the IPS technology the viewing angle on the HTC EVO 4G LTE is astounding, something the Galaxy S III can’t match.

Objectively, media just looks better on the S-LCD2 display.

Samsung Galaxy S III 360-Degrees View:

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Double click or press keyboard Space to zoom in/out

HTC EVO 4G LTE 360-Degrees View:

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Double click or press keyboard Space to zoom in/out

If you want Jelly Bean, I'm not sure about Samsung. They're notorious for taking forever to updated their Galaxy phones in the US. I waited forever for updates to my original Epic, and the GSII still has no ICS.

I don't want a tablet ever for the very reason. I have my big iMac when I am at home, My big TV to watch my program, my smartphone to do basic email, web and some app. I know what kind of user I am. I removable battery is number 1 of MUST have on my list, then everything else follows down my check list.

Wow, EVO LTE wins just about every round. I picked up both of them and I am testing them out. I have to say, I agree with the comparison review, in my opinion, the EVO is a more refined device and has the few extras that were missing out of the One X to be up to par with the Galaxy S III.

I think I will keep the EVO and return the SGS3, both great phones though.

Very good review! Wish that the htc evo 4g lte was sold internationally as it had better performance and specs than that of the one x. Now, the Samsung Galaxy S 3 has it's true competitor in the smartphone industry!

I've owned HTC devices for many years with no major issues. I can't praise their build quality enough. I'm not a fan of stationary batteries. I like the option to remove them. However, This review has helped me keep me in check that I maybe purchasing an HTC product once again.

Why pick a winner? The comparison was done and it is up to the potential buyer to make their decision based on the info given.

Picking a winner would be a matter of PA's personal opinion. Not necessarily the same interests of the purchaser.

IMO, based on past experiences, I believe the HTC is a better purchase for shear build quality and Sense's ability to interact better with Android. TouchWiz seems to develope glitches after months of use. Constant factory resets seems to be the norm with TouchWiz/Android integration.

32.SleepingOz (unregistered)

"Sense's ability to interact better with Android"
HAHAHA YOU JUST MADE MY DAY!
Oh really? based on what? I've been using my GSII for nearly a year now and I've never experienced any of these glitches you're talking about.

Because Brian K. took off points for Sprint not having an LTE network, issues with camera and non removable battery. Funny because neither can get LTE right now. Accourding to this article, the EVO also had an edge on camera comparison and matched the SG3 pound for pound in battery dept. If you factor this comparison into the previous review.... EVO LTE should be a 9.5.

I agree with both of the above comments. Both versions of the S3 got 9.3. I wondered why the EVO review was so low after reading the comparison. The LG Viper LTE and Galaxy Nexus reviews both had pros as "LTE enabled" but for the EVO its a con.

I've been reading this site for years and I think the editors have a significant say in the scoring. What the articles say often don't jive with the final scores, and the EVO is a prime example. Brian praised it pretty much all the way around, but then it got a relatively low score.

Even if you read this article it seems that the EVO comes out the clear winner, but at the end there they leave it open. The reviews on this site are usually great (with a one very biased reviewer as an exception), but the scores are often confusing. My advice is to not even bother with scores, and read the review (or at least the conclusion) for the author's true feelings on the phone.

The Htc Evo Lte also has talk and surf at the same time over 3g which i thought was crazy that they are not promoting that makes it the winner to me being able to be on the phone and surf the web at the same time on 3g not wifi or LTE

when the htc lte came out i bought it , too many things were wrong with the phone, they put the power outlet where you would lay in th on the that side when you had it on the kickstand. battery life sucks. after several other little things i thought i'm not getting stuck with this for two years and returned it . order on line my samsung galaxy III and have had it for a week as of today. love it.

Just becareful. Many software issues occur with Samsung after a few months. After this time, you will not be able to reverse your decision again. You will be stuck with it for two years.

Some hardware issues of the HTC may not appeal to you, but I can assure you that they tend to handle the software better as well as managing a better signal reception. And their durability is awesome. I don't know about you, but that's important to me.

The answer to the question as to which phone is better is pretty clear. In every aspect the Evo won out against the GS3 except in Ram memory. As far as sound, performance, camera, video, and ease of use the Evo is the winner. If you rooted both phones and ran a custom rom then thats where things get more interesting. The SGS3 quite possibly would come out the winner with more ram and a processor built specifically for that hardware. So phonearena, just be honest and be straight forward instead of keeping the conclusion vague and non confrontational. The Evo is the clear winner with everything stock.

i'd have to disagree with you there. the development community for samsung isnt as good as htc. butgthat might be because sense is open source now and samsung loves to lock down there phones. i had an epic that was rooted with a custom rom until samsung pushed their ota updated for 2.3.6 and relocked my phone while i was asleep. after that i refused to buy another samsung phone

Wow and I thought Ray from phone arena was biased. This was probably the worst vs I've ever seen on phonearena. No other reviewer has dismissed the S3 like you did. Also you spent the entire review just talking about the look, feel and interface. It didn't even follow the formula you guys normally do for the videos. Please leave the video review to Jon V. He's the best video reviewer you guys have.

The EVO is a pretty good device no argument there. However I'm sure the Galaxy S3 will beat it out in real life performance. Besides the Sprint versions scores are lower than AT&T Galaxy. AT&T gets over 5200 on quadrant. I've previously owned a HTC phone and I can they are good but HTC always rushes out their phones without that much effort into it. But the galaxy s3 is perfect. It has the best software and it's a more well rounded device.

This review doesn't make much sense. Im sure some of you have read all the reviews by PA on the Samsung S3 and the EVO and they all prefered the S3. The S3 has been so over reviewed and compared to all other phones on PA over the last month that it was all they could talk about. There review of the EVO was very critical and in every review they preferred the camera on the S3 but here they prefer the EVO. OK now for the real world. I have owned both phones. I really wanted the EVO and I didn't want anything else. I preodered it and I had no plan to get the S3 at all. However, the HTC EVO had many problems right out of the box, to many. Despite the better screen the camera color reproduction was terrible, everybody comes out orange, and bad focus. wosrt than the original EVO. Poor audio player and a frustrating screen with that large black bar at the bottom. The build quality might be a bit better but it doesn't feel better. That premium brushed edge on the EVO is so slippery that it jumps right out of your hand. Despite what someone said earlier if you have that many problems out of the box why would you keep it and wait for a fix. So I returned it and now have the S3. The S3 is the better phone. It beats the EVO in alomst every area. The bench mark means nothing to anyone that has owned both phones. The S3 is a joy to use and has more functions. I wanted to go with the EVO but why would you spend $200 and two year contract for all those problems out of the box. The Smasung S3 has been perfect. Just my two cents.

Well you guys are some of the only ones. Go to Sprint forums and you will read over 1000 people that did have all these problems including myself. The camera problem was the worst. The camera on the EVO can't read skin tone. I showed to the Sprint employees and they said that almost all of there first pre oders had this problem but that it might go away. Don't get me wrong, I love the EVO but but many of the first orders had to many problems.

I also pre-ordered and got one of the first phones shipped, and I've had no problems whatsoever. Some users are experiencing some issues but even the S3 will have problems, so it's silly for anyone to say the S3 is better - it's just better for you. Isn't it great that we live in a time where advances in technology gives us so many cool choices, and we all get to choose what's best for us? ;)

Wow...great review until you get to the conclusion. Are you kidding me? The Evo cleaned house over the Samsung and it should have. Evo build quality is amazing using high grade materials instead of plain plastic. It's more responsive, better quadrant, better music player, better interface, better call quality, better screen...do I go on? Yet you guys rate it lower..8.5 then the Galaxy. Then you don't choose a winner???

PA...nice review but bad conclusion....I dont think its should go that way. Its either one of the device won or a draw specially both phones are different. Take this as an opportunity... we are anticipating for PA conclusion!

I have the original EVO and getting ready to upgrade to Samsung SIII. Mayabe Evo has better reviews right now. But just like the original it lacks the RAM for long term usage. After you start adding your apps and running it will slow it down even more. This is where Phonearena and other reviewers failed to notice. For long term usage the 2gig RAM will dust the 1 when the user start running all the apps they use. This is the problem I have with the EVO now, I can't run too many apps or even stream a video that much. And for the EVO to have the inclosed battery is what push me away. They are now joining the IPhones for that to make money from the service and accesories. Any smart phones should have swapppable batteries, since none of them last very long. As for the housing of the phone, who cares when most of the user buy covers for them any ways. The bottom line, regardless of the reviews fo the HTC products, the Samsung has better reviews from the end user than the HTC. Especially the camera for the naked eyes.

Agree! I wanted the EVO LTE as well, But non removable battery was a deal breaker. 2GB ram a BIG PLUS long term usage. It's really a no brainer SGSIII for me. Now decided to get it on VZW, Sprint or AT&T. TMble only is HSPA no LTE built in, so TMble not an option at all.

I think the Evo 4G LTE slighty edges out the US Galaxy S3.. But International Galaxy S3 will wipe both of them.. F*ck USA Galaxy S3 variants, they always put Samsung into shame especially on updates (because of that f*cking carriers) & inferior chipsets (Crapdragon)..

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